Packaging with molded pulp cushioning pads



Jan. 22, 1957 EMERY 2,778,490

PACKAGING WITH MOLDED PULP CUSHIONING PADS Filed Dec. 16, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RICHARD L; EMERY BY I HIS ATTORNE S Jan. 22, 1957 R. EMERY 2,778,490

PACKAGING WITH MOLDED PULP cusmoumc PADS Filed Dec. 16, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RICHARD L. EMERY Jan. 22, 1957 R. L. EMERY 2,778,490

PACKAGING WITH MOLDED PULP CUSHIONING PADS Filed Dec. 16, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.6

FIG]

IN VENTOR.

RICHARD L. EMERfiQ HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent PACKAGING WITH MOLDED PULP CUSHIONING PADS Richard L. Emery, Fairfield, Maine Application December 16, 1953, Serial No. 398,562 7 Claims. ,(Cl. 206- 65) This invention relates to packaging, particularly where the packaging uses cushiony packaging pads or trays.

Among the objects or" the present invention is the provision of novel packaging combination and packaging pads that enable improved and simplified packaging, particularly for articles that may be unsymmetrical and of varying lengths.

The above as well as additional objects of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of several of its exemplifications, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a package combination illustrating the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged sectional view of a portion of one of the packaging pads shown in Fig. l, the pad being removed from the packaging container;

Fig. 3 is a plan view with the details partly omitted of the'packaging pad of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of the pad of Fig. 3 and also includes in the same view a showing of the relationship of one edge of the pad with another pad stacked above it;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and also shows the relationship of one pad with adjacent stacked pads as well as with articles packaged in these pads;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified packaging combination according to the present invention; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view similar to Fig. 2 of a pad in the packaging combination of Fig. 6.

According to the present invention a packaging pad is made of paper or the like, thick enough to provide effective cushioning, with a plurality of recesses formed on opposite faces of the pad, and in addition opposed marginal lifting tabs scored for bending toward both pad faces. It is desirable for the scored juncture between the lifting tabs and the body of the pad to be recessed somewhat from the pad margin along which the pads are provided.

The article-receiving recesses in the pad are preferably elongated and arranged as a plurality of rows to less.

receive the bodies of the individual articles to be packaged, the recesses being in end-to-end alignment and separated from the adjacent recesses in the same row by partitions having grooves to receive elongated extensions of the packaged articles. Advantages are also obtained if the recesses have article-supporting floors that include a ridge extending along the intermediate portion to engage a protuberance on the packaged article, thereby reducing packaging looseness.

In the description and drawings, the package combination and pads of the invention will be more particularly described in connection with the packaging of potentiometers of the volume control type. These potentiometers have a generally cylindrical body portion with an unsymmetrically located radially extending terminal shown packaged in place.

board and an axially projecting shaft of varying length.

The packaging of these articles in accordance with the present invention is highly effective, but other articles can also be packaged with very desirable results.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a portion of a container 10 made of wood or other suitable materials filled with a stack of individual packaging pads 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, volume controls of different form as indicated at 21, 22, 23 and 24 being The individual pads 12 to 18 inclusive are all of identical construction, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. 1 1

In plan view (Fig. 3), the pad 12 is shown as generally rectangular in outline with a body portion 30 and tabs 32, 34 along two opposed edges. vThe pads themselves are made of molded paper pulp preferably. at least about 0.04 inch in wall thickness. Tabs 32, 34 are integral portions of the pad but are defined by score lines or grooves 36. By reason of the wall thickness of the pad needed to provide adequate cushioning, the tabs are not easy to bend up unless such score lines are provided. Fig. 2 shows more clearly that score lines 36 are provided on both the upper and lower faces of the pad so that the lifting flaps can be selectively bent toward the top or towards the bottom face of the pad.

The body 30 or" the pad is formed with rows of elongated recesses 40. Six rows are shown in Fig. 3 with seven recesses per row. The individual rows of recesses are numbered 51 to 56 inclusive, and are separated from each other by ribs or inverted recesses 42. Six rows of such ribs 42 are also provided, identified as 61 to 66 inclusive, and arranged so that the ribs 42 are symmetrical with respect to the recesses. 40. Shallow ridges '43 in the floors of recesses 40 and .corresponding depres- The pad of Fig. 3 has marginal flanges 49 and 50 extending along opposite edges. Flanges 50 are preferably cut out at on either sidev of the lifting tabsto permit the score lines 36 to be set back awayfrorn the edges of the flanges. The flanges 49, are shown as positioned approximately at the level of the adjoining recess or rib floors, whereas flanges 50 are equatorially located. The pad is so contoured that when turned upside down the ribs 42 present upwardly facing recesses that can be identical in shape and arrangement as the recesses 40. In addition the individual ribs 42 in each row are separated by inverted partitions 46 having the central portions 48 raised so that they are substantially identical with partitions 44 when the pad is inverted. The lifting tabs being folded in either direction, they can be arranged to project upwardly Whether thepad is right-side up or upside down. 1 In use one padcanbe inserted in a container, either directly against the container bottom as in Fig. l, or

cushioned from the bottom by an empty pad preferably inverted. In the insertion of the pad, the tabs will automatically befolded up by the side walls of the container, but the tabs can be bent up before insertion if desired. The inserted pad can then have potentiometers placed in its recesses. The longest potentiometers have bodies that fit into the length of single recesses as indicated at 21 in Fig. l. The shafts can be extended across the partition grooves as far as permitted by the length of container 10. Potentiometer 22, for example, has a shaft that extendsvover an entirerecess'and part way across the next. Some potentiometers can be entirely fitted into a single recess as at 24, and others as at 23 will be small enough so that the recess it is placed in can also receive another potentiometer, either in whole or' -iri'part. N

' The cylindrical body 72 of each potentiometer drops down orrone sideof the ridgeand becomes wedged between theridge andone side wall of the recess, as shown more clearlyin Figf i. This provides sufficient room on the other side of the ridge for the recess.to receive the radially projecting terminal board 74. The individual otentiometers are disposed so thatv their shafts, if sufliciently long, ,cXtend across the partition grooves 48. These grooves are made'vvide enough so that they will accommodate two shafts side by side as, for example, when two potentiometers of the typeshown at 21 inFig. l are placed'in adjacentjrecesses' and so arranged that their respective shafts project to the other recess. The shafts, as they extend through the grooves in side-by-side relationship, should be offset as by positioning the respctive potentiometer bodies on different sides of the ridgesin' the'floors of their respective recesses. It is not necessar /1 dispose theidentical Potentiometers through but. 'Anycombination of potentiometers can be pocketed in any arrangement, as indicated'at the lowest layer in Fig. 1.

' "When the pad is filled, a second pad is inserted in the carton and placed over the filled pad. The second pad is inverted before'it is inserted in the container to bring the downv'larclly facing recesses of the second pad over the upwardly facing recesses of the filled pad. The abut merit of the t wo recesses in face-to-face relationship in this manner creates a cell-like compartment in which the previously inserted potentiometers are well cushioned.

It is" noted that'theindividual recesses are only about half as deep as the potentiometers so that the potentiometer' is partly'in the lower and partly in the upper pad. The pads mated in this manner also have their partitions juxtaposed't'o'accommodate the projecting shafts, if any.

Although the downwardly facing recesses of the second pad are occupied by the previously inserted poten- 'tiometers, fthe upwardly facing recesses of the second pad are now ready to' receive additional otentiometers dis- -tribut'ed in the manner described above for the first pad.

When thesecond pad is filled, it is covered by a third'pad, whic'h'is also'inverted with respect to the second pad. This is repeated until the desired stackingis obtained. The topmost pad in the stack can be left empty and for better cushioning can'also be covered by another empty pad. 'Shouldtheextra height of the lifting tabs on the topmo'sbor,cushioningpad interfere with the closing of the container, these topmost' lifting tabs can be simply torn other better arranged to project downwardly along the margins 49, 49 of the pad immediately below it by merely bending these tabs down instead of up and rorating the body 90 around the vertical axis with respect to the pad below it.

Inunloading the filled container it is only necessary after opening the container and removing any top cushiohing,'-'to'take hold o'f'the uppermost lifting tabs which are'radially accessible and project above the topmost pad, and in this way lift the topmost pad out. The succeeding pads can also be lifted out in the same manner. The pads so removed can either be handled with the potentiometers still in place, or some or all of the potentiometers can be removed before further handling, or even be fore the pad is removed from the container.

The bodies of the pads can be made either square, as illustrated in the figures, rectangular, polygonal, or even curved in plan view to better fit the particular containers with which they are to be used. They can also be used with other elongated or unsymmetrical articles such as capacitors, resistors, spark plugs or similar electrical components, and in fact any suitably shaped articles which are'desirably packed in cushioned condition.

In the illustrated construction the recesses along margins 5d, 50 are shown as somewhat shorter than the remaining recesses. This takes advantage of some of the room provided by the relatively wide flanges 50, 50. However, all recesses can be made of the same size if desired, and in fact the difierences in size can be used in other arrangements. Thus, the marginal recesses can even be larger than the remaining recesses. For use with standard potentiometers a convenient recess length is about 1% inches at thebase of the-recess with approximately 2% inches between the partition centers, a width of about '1 inch at the base, the spacing between the ridge centers of adjacent oppositelyfacing recesses being about 1% inches. With these dimensions a molded pulp pad having a wall thickness of about 0.05 inch has been found to be very effective. The number of recesses per row and rows per pad can be varied to suit conditions.

Instead of having the lifting tabs at the longitudinal ends of the recessed rows, they can be located on the other margins of the pad. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 6. Here a container 10 is shown as filled with pads 112, 113, 114,115,116, 117 and 118, each having the general configuration of the pad shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, but with lifting tabs 132 integrally formed on equatorial flanges extending longitudinally with respectto the recessed rows. As more clearly shown in Fig. 7, the tabs 132 are connected to their flanges 150 by score lines 136, 136 on opposite faces of the flange.

A feature of the invention is that the reversible lifting tabs contribute aconsiderable amount of stilfeuingto the pad margins, thereby making it easier to handle the pads,

particularly when the lifting tabs are folded up or down.

rugated type which is used conventionally for packing purposes, or of any other construction, and need not be too rigid unless the carton containersare of unusually large size.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments hereof except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A packing device comprising a molded pulp sheet having alternate rows of recesses and ribs on' each surface thereof whereby the recesses on one surface form the ribs on the opposite surface and the ribs on said one surface form the recesses on the opposite surface, said alternate rows of recesses and ribs being parallel with each other while being positioned in completely separate lateralplanes, each recess being provided with a ridge extending in a direction parallel .to the direction of said rows and extending the full length of the recess in said direction, and ,each rib being provided with a groove extending the full length of the rib'in a parallel direction to said ridges, said recesses and ribs having complementary sizes and shapes and said ridges and grooves also having complementary sizes and shapes.

2. The packing device of'claim 1 wherein said sheet is provided with oppositely-positioned, integrally-formed tabs, said tabs being hinged ly connected to'the marginal portion of said sheet to serve as both handles for lifting the sheet and as stiffening means for said marginal portion.

T Padan evis 9i sl i ,2 wherein Sa t are linked to said marginal portion by score lines.

4. The packing device of claim 1 wherein the recesses in each row of recesses are spaced from each other by partitions and the ribs in each row of ribs are spaced from each other by indentations, said partitions and indentations being arranged in rows perpendicular to said rows of recesses and ribs, said rows of partitions and indentations being so arranged that each of such rows consists of alternate partitions and indentations.

5. The packing device of claim 1 wherein the recesses in each row of recesses are spaced from each other by partitions and the ribs in each row of ribs are spaced from each other by indentations, said partitions being provided with slots extending downwardly to a level intermediate the plane of the tops of the partitions and the plane of the bottoms of the recesses, and said indentations being provided with abutments extending upwardly to a level intermediate the plane of the tops of said ribs and the plane of the bottoms of said indentations.

6. A package comprising a container, a plurality of molded pulp packing pads stacked, one above the other, in said container, each packing pad comprising a sheet having alternate rows of recesses and ribs on each surface thereof whereby the recesses on one surface form the ribs on the opposite surface and the ribs on said one surface form the recesses on the opposite surface, said alternate rows of recesses and ribs being parallel with each other while being positioned in completely separate lateral planes, each recess being provided with a ridge extending in a direction parallel to the direction of said rows and extending the full length of the recess in said direction, and each rib being provided with a groove extending the full length of the rib in a parallel direction to said ridges, said recesses and ribs having complementary sizes and shapes and said ridges and grooves also having complementary sizes and shapes, said pads being oriented in such a manner that they overlie each other with their recesses in opposing, complementary relationship to each other to form rows of cells between each pair of pads, and articles rigidly supported within said cells.

7. The package of claim 6 wherein each pad is provided with oppositely disposed tabs hingedly connected to the marginal portions thereof, said tabs acting to stiffen said marginal portions and being arranged to tangentially support said pads by diagonal abutment with each other and with the side walls of said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 713,355 Staats Nov. 11, 1902 1,940,848 Davidson Dec. 26, 1933 1,967,037 Mann July 17, 1934 2,568,769 Sheppard Sept. 25, 1951 2,604,984 Apgar July 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 343,390 Germany Feb. 11, 1922 11,613 Netherlands Dec. 15, 1924 941,229 France July 5, 1948 984,549 France Feb. 28, 1951 132,762 Sweden Aug. 21, 1951 

